They are all alike you know. They hold their tongues for years and you think you're safe, but when the opportunity comes they remember everything.
Edith WhartonRead
Through this atmosphere of torrid splendor moved wan beings as richly upholstered as the furniture, beings without definite pursuits or permanent relations, who drifted on a languid tide of curiosity... Somewhere behind them, in the background of their lives there was doubtless a real past, yet they had no more real existence than the poet's shades in limbo.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the superficial existence of individuals who lack purpose and genuine connections.
In this quote by Edith Wharton, the author paints a picture of people who are extravagantly dressed yet devoid of real engagement or meaningful pursuits. These 'wan beings' float through life, characterized by superficiality and curiosity, yet they lack a concrete identity or connection to a significant past, much like ephemeral shadows. This commentary suggests a critique of a life lived without depth or genuine relationships, highlighting the emptiness that can accompany a focus on external appearances rather than substantive experiences.
Themes
SuperficialityExistenceIdentityCuriosityRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of finding purpose in life, this quote could illustrate the pitfalls of living superficially.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes →They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
Edith WhartonRead
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
Edith WhartonRead
And I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.
Edith WhartonRead
As he paid the hansom and followed his wife's long train into the house he took refuge in the comforting platitude that the first six months were always the most difficult in marriage. 'After that I suppose we shall have pretty nearly finished rubbing off each other’s angles,' he reflected; but the worst of it was that May's pressure was already bearing on the very angles whose sharpness he most wanted to keep
Edith WhartonRead
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
Edith WhartonRead
Similar quotes
Racism is a refuge for the ignorant. It seeks to divide and to destroy. It is the enemy of freedom, and deserves to be met head-on and stamped out.
Pierre BertonRead
I realized that Eastern thought had somewhat more compassion for all living things. Man was a form of life that in another reincarnation might possibly be a horsefly or a bird of paradise or a deer. So a man of such a faith, looking at animals, might be looking at old friends or ancestors. In the East the wilderness has no evil connotation; it is thought of as an expression of the unity and harmony of the universe.
William O. DouglasRead
He who fears he will suffer, already suffers from his fear.
Michel De MontaigneRead
I spit into the face of time that has transfigured me
William Butler YeatsRead
Most affectations conceal something eventually, even though they don't in the beginning.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
But when the dawn will come, of our emancipation, from the fear of bondage and the bondage of fear, why, that is a secret.
Alan PatonRead